Kars4—Who? Consumer Protection Law Violation and Misleading Advertising
In the constantly changing political stage of today, the unexpected becomes expected. But when nonprofit organizations we trust to always do the right thing do not, what is there to rely on? Without the generosity of people who create these organizations, humanity would fall into a state of survival of the “richest”, where there is no one to look out for the less fortunate. When Bruce Puterbaugh donated to Kars4Kids in 2021, like so many other deceived Americans, he believed he was giving to underprivileged children in California. When he found out that over 90% of his money was actually going to Orthodox Jewish programs in New York, New Jersey, and Israel, he couldn’t believe the misinformation he had been fed. Most donors are hooked by the catchy ad, which doesn’t warn about the high concentration of donations that go to Jewish organizations and camps through the program Oorah. Oorah’s mission is to develop Orthodox Jewish children and families, not to give to the poor. Due to a natural trust for renowned nonprofits such as Kars4Kids, millions are tricked into giving money to groups that they would not have otherwise. Kars4Kids has been allowed time and time again to mislead donors with their inaccurate advertisements, while omitting specifics about where their donations go. And due to their popularity as an organization, money which is acquired due to unlawful business practices continues to flow to their recipients without federal intervention.
Shockingly, the hoax did not begin there. In fact, in the 1990s, Kars4Kids began as a fundraising arm for Oorah. In 2000, they allegedly separated, but continued to function as a single company with the same mission as before. Furthermore, this is not the first complaint against the nonprofit. In 2009, Kars4Kids was investigated by two different attorneys general actions—one in Oregon and another in Pennsylvania—both accusing them of airing equivocal ads. In the settlements, Kars4Kids and Oorah were required to pay a large fine (which they did), but also to include “additional disclosures” in their advertisements (which they did not do). In 2017, while Kars4Kids continued to broadcast their ads, they were audited by the Minnesota attorney general as well (through a formal Compliance Review), finding that over 90 percent of charitable donations going to Kars4Kids were transferred to Oorah. More specifically, out of the $3 million raised for Kars4Kids from Minnesota, less than $12,000, or 1 percent of the money, went to helping kids in Minnesota. This was a published 300-page report, so though they were not fined, the report was forwarded to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) asking the federal government to look into the charity.
In 2021, Kars4Kids found itself in legal hot water once again. In Puterbaugh v. Kars4Kids, the Superior Court of California ruled against Kars4Kids, finding it in violation of section 17200 of the Unfair Competition Law (UCL), which prohibits unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business acts or practices. It was also in violation of section 17500 of California’s Business and Professions Code, which explains that false or misleading statements in advertising are a criminal offense. The judge issued a permanent injunction that stated the ad could not be played on California airwaves unless specifics about the religious affiliation, geographic focus, and age range of the recipients were provided in the ad. However, as California provides 25 percent of donations for the organization (though no programs could be found for underprivileged children in the state), Kars4Kids subsequently launched an appeal. The ad is allowed to stay on air in California while they follow up on the appeal.
The federal government did not make any moves against the organization, which led to the filing of a federal class action lawsuit against Kars4Kids (Dugger v. Kars4Kids Inc.). This was the first attempt to unite donors nationwide in one consumer-fraud claim. They applied laws such as the Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and the False Advertising Law (FAL) on behalf of the California class. While the UCL prohibits unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business acts or practices, the FAL clarifies that false advertising also applies to hidden terms and omitting crucial information. Furthermore, they also charged them with the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), on behalf of the country. This act says that, as an enterprise, any acts done by the enterprise reflect on its leaders as an offense done by them. With RICO, Kars4Kids cannot dodge the “blame”. The lawsuit accused Kars4Kids of benefiting due to facts left out of their ad, such as the financial transfers where they diverted donor property (to Oorah) under pretenses. Though the lawsuit was dismissed and the court could not make a decision based on the claims and allegations, it still became a landmark “case” for federal omissions and allowed the plaintiffs to refile the lawsuit after making changes.
This all led to a deciding federal class action lawsuit filed on November 4, 2025: Savva & Vickers v. Kars4Kids/Oorah. This lawsuit and Dugger v. Kars4Kids Inc. are very similar in their major allegations. This lawsuit included FAL, UCL, and RICO. Kars4Kids was similarly accused of unfair competition (for California charities that actually donate locally), false advertising, and RICO violations due to money transfers to their sister company.
The court will likely rule against Kars4Kids. Their advertisements do not clearly indicate where their money goes, as the majority of it does not even go to minors. They are most definitely a charity for Orthodox Jews of all ages, especially those starting their lives post-high school. In fact, the only way one can tell where their money is going is to find the Kars4Kids website and scroll to the bottom, where the fine print confesses, “Your donation will benefit Kars4Kids, a national organization dedicated to addressing the educational, material, emotional and spiritual needs of Jewish children and their families.” Furthermore, the use of kids 8-10 in their advertisements is also very misleading for viewers, supposedly validating their age range to viewers, when really they are giving money to over-18s. This creates a false understanding of the charity's overall goals and where their money goes. The charity may argue that specificities are provided on their website; however, advertisements are how companies catch attention; if an ad provides false information, or omits vital information, the audience may not think about checking the website. Fining the nonprofit is clearly not making a difference, and without federal intervention, they seemingly have no plans to alter their ads.
To summarize, it is important to understand that this has nothing to do with the charity itself; it has to do with the generous donors who are being taken advantage of for giving when they are able. Kars4Kids is a large corporation with plenty to give to its recipients, so accepting money that would have gone to other charities that actually give to underprivileged children is wrong. Misleading ads do not just mean that donors are taken advantage of; it also means underprivileged children suffer more.
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